Archive for November, 2008

We realised it was B’s birthday 2 days ago, thanks to my wonderful Facebook reminder. After cracking our heads as to what present to get her (and she pretty much has everything; what she wants and doesn’t have, we probably can’t afford!), we decided to make her some lovely home-made chocolate truffles.

We flipped a couple of recipe books (Gordon Ramsay, Vue de Monde, etc) but found the Alton Brown recipe from Food Network the simplest and least fussy of all.

We heated some double cream, melted some butter, and poured the boiling fat over a bowl of Monsieur Truffe’s 70% cocoa chips. Stirred and cooled it over a bowl of ice, and there we had our ganache! It was absolutely easy peasy and such a delight to make!

A whole bowl of ooooozey chocolatey goodness!

Ganache

We also had 3 types of coatings – the classic Belgian (couverture chocolate coating dusted with cocoa powder), blitzed pistachios, and lastly some more Monsieur Truffe cocoa chips that we massacred in the blender. My favourite was the classic Belgian truffle, although I enjoyed all 3.

Pistachio Truffles

Classic Belgian truffles

Packed the gems in a spanking new Decor container, tied it up with a ribbon, and voila!

Happy Birthday B!

And now let’s just hope she enjoys the truffles. They were made with love!

I love my tomato & cheese toasts. In fact, I am currently obsessed with them. I have them every morning for breakfast, toasted, fresh from whichever sandwich shop I decide to pay a visit to in the morning. Most of the time I wind up at Urban Deli, where they have a $5 toast+coffee deal – these are the mornings when I have my coffee.

Other days, I’m at the humble sandwich shop from the food court downstairs where I get a tea and sandwich for a mere $3.50! And what a MASSIVE sandwich it is! It’s lasted me through breakfast and lunch, and now I’m doubtful I can even eat dinner.